GST Rate Finder: Government launches app to check rates. This app can end confusion around multiple tax rates

HIGHLIGHTS

The app is now available on Android platform and will soon be offered on Apple’s iOS also

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley getting hands-on with the GST app

The government on Friday launched an app called GST Rate Finder– which as the name suggests is your ready reckoner for all the tax rates that are to be levied under the GST (Goods and Services Tax) regime. The app has been developed by the Central Board of Excise and Custom (CBEC).

“First app of its kind which would be a ready reckoner for public, for customers, for consumers, traders, students, anyone who wishes to have very handily (GST) rates available. So, if you are in a market, a restaurant or anywhere you can easily check what the (GST) rate is,” CBEC chairperson Vanaja Sarna said.

To find out the required tax rate:

1. Enter the name or chapter heading of the commodity or service in the search box provided

2. Search result will list all the goods and services containing the name which was typed in the search box

3. Scroll down the list of description

4. Click on any specific item on the list. A display window will pop-up, containing details such as the GST rate, description of goods or services and the chapter heading of the Harmonised System of Nomenclature (HSN).

For example, any person who has been billed by a hotel or a restaurant or for footwear can cross verify the correctness of the rate of GST charged.

Users can download the app on any smartphone. GST Rate Finder app can be used in offline mode, once downloaded.